Eremophila crassifolia

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Eremophila crassifolia
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Genus: Eremophila
Species:
E. crassifolia
Binomial name
Eremophila crassifolia
(F.Muell.) F.Muell. [1]
Synonyms [1]
  • Bondtia crassifolia Kuntze orth. var.
  • Bontia crassifolia(F.Muell.) Kuntze
  • Pholidia crassifoliaF.Muell.

Eremophila crassifolia, commonly known as thick-leaved emubush or trim emubush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to an area extending from New South Wales through Victoria to southern parts of South Australia. It is a low, spreading shrub with clustered leaves and bell-shaped, usually mauve-coloured flowers.

Contents

Description

Eremophila crassifolia is a low shrub with erect or spreading branches growing to a height and width of up to 1.0 m (40 in) and which often forms root suckers. Its leaves are densely clustered and overlapping, thick, folded lengthwise and egg-shaped to almost round. They are mostly 4–9 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long and 2–7 mm (0.08–0.3 in) wide, light green and often have purplish edges. [2] [3] [4] [5]

The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils on a very short stalk. There are 5 green, overlapping, lance-shaped sepals, 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long which have scattered hairs along their edges. The petals are 5.5–10.5 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long and joined for about half their length to form a bell-shaped tube. The petals are usually lilac-coloured, sometimes white on the outside, and are white inside with lilac spots. The outer surface of the tube and petal lobes are glabrous except for the lower petal lobe which has prominent hairs on its upper surface. The inside of the tube is filled with long, soft hairs. Two of the 4 stamens are fully enclosed in the petal tube while the other 2 extend slightly beyond it. Flowering occurs during most months and is followed by the fruits which are oval shaped to almost spherical and 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long. [2] [3]

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1859 and the description was published in Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania. [6] [7] In 1870, Mueller changed the name to Pholidia crassifolia [8] and again to the present name in 1882. [9] The specific epithet (crassifolium) is derived from the Latin words crassus meaning "thick", "fat" or "stout" [10] : 237  and folium meaning "leaf". [10] : 466 

Distribution and habitat

Thick-leaved emubush is widespread and common in southern parts of South Australia including the Eyre Peninsula, and eastwards to western Victoria. [2] A few plants of this species have been recorded in New South Wales 35 km (20 mi) east of Wentworth. [11]

Conservation status

Eremophila crassifolia is regarded as "not at risk". [2]

Use in horticulture

This eremophila is one of the hardiest of the genus and can survive frost and extended drought. It strikes readily from cuttings and will form a dense colony if allowed to sucker. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Eremophila divaricata</i> Species of plant

Eremophila divaricata, also known as spreading emu bush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a shrub with stiff, spreading, tangled branches which are often spiny on their ends, erect leaves and mauve to lilac-coloured flowers.

<i>Eremophila freelingii</i> Species of plant

Eremophila freelingii, commonly known as limestone fuchsia or rock fuchsia bush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a shrub with sticky, hairy, lance-shaped leaves and flowers a shade of light to dark lilac and which occurs in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia.

<i>Eremophila scoparia</i> Species of plant

Eremophila scoparia, commonly known as silver emubush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a broom-like shrub with narrow, hooked leaves, small sepals and deep lilac-coloured to white petals and is common and widespread in southern parts of the continent.

<i>Eremophila bowmanii</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila bowmanii, also known as silver turkeybush, Bowman's poverty bush and flannel bush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. It is a low to medium, spreading shrub with silvery-grey, hairy foliage and blue to lilac flowers, and sometimes grows in dense thickets with mulga.

<i>Eremophila delisseri</i> Species of plant

Eremophila delisseri is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to an area of the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia. it is a shrub with lilac-coloured flowers and with most of its parts covered with white hairs.

<i>Eremophila gibbifolia</i> Species of plant

Eremophila gibbifolia, commonly known as coccid emu-bush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a small, rare shrub in the wild, found only in Victoria and South Australia. It has small, fleshy, lumpy leaves and lilac-coloured to purple flowers, spotted inside.

<i>Eremophila mackinlayi</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila mackinlayi, commonly known as desert pride, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a shrub with its branches and leaves covered with a thick layer of yellow to grey hairs, mostly egg-shaped leaves and deep lilac-coloured to purple flowers. It is most closely related to E. strongylophylla and E. hygrophana and sometimes occurs in the same areas as these species.

<i>Eremophila strongylophylla</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila strongylophylla is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a small shrub with distinctive round leaves, yellowish new growth and purple flowers which are white inside. It is similar to Eremophila mackinlayi and Eremophila hygrophana but distinguished from them by characteristics including leaf shape, and the type of hairs on its leaves and branches.

<i>Eremophila weldii</i> Species of plant

Eremophila weldii is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a shrub with glabrous green leaves, small sepals and purple or lilac-coloured petals and it occurs in arid and semi-arid areas of Western Australia and South Australia.

<i>Eremophila microtheca</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila microtheca, also known as heath-like eremophila, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with densely hairy branches and leaves, narrow leaves and pale lilac-coloured flowers and which emits a strong odour.

<i>Eremophila behriana</i> Species of plant

Eremophila behriana is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It was one of the plants collected on the 1858 - 1859 Babbage expedition to explore areas north of Adelaide and was later described by Ferdinand von Mueller. It is a small shrub, usually with egg-shaped, serrated leaves and lilac to purple flowers with hairs on the lower petal lobe.

<i>Eremophila densifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila densifolia is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is usually a low, spreading shrub with densely clustered leaves and lilac to purple flowers.

Eremophila elderi, commonly known as aromatic emu bush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. It is endemic to central Australia where it grows near the border between Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. It is an erect, aromatic shrub with sticky leaves and branches and usually pale coloured to white flowers. Its specific epithet (elderi) honours an early Australian businessman, Thomas Elder.

<i>Eremophila exilifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila exilifolia is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a widely distributed shrub which is shaped like an inverted cone and has small, very sticky leaves and branches and lilac-coloured flowers.

<i>Eremophila gibsonii</i> Species of plant

Eremophila gibsonii is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a sticky, glabrous, rounded shrub with narrow leaves and white to lilac-coloured flowers and which occurs in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

<i>Eremophila goodwinii</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila goodwinii, commonly known purple fuchsia bush and Goodwin's emu bush is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a small, spreading or erect shrub with most parts sticky due to the presence of resin, tapering leaves and pale lilac to mauve flowers. It occurs in New South Wales, the Northern Territory and Queensland.

<i>Eremophila paisleyi</i> Species of plant

Eremophila paisleyi is a plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a rounded, broom-shaped shrub with white or lilac-coloured flowers which occurs in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

<i>Eremophila phillipsii</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila phillipsii is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a tall, erect, open shrub, with narrow leaves and lilac to purple flowers which are white with purple spots inside. It often has an offensive smell.

<i>Eremophila rotundifolia</i> Species of plant

Eremophila rotundifolia is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a shrub with many tangled branches with its leaves and branches covered with a layer of silvery-grey hairs. Its flowers range in colour from pale to deep lilac. It is common in South Australia and there is also a single record from the Northern Territory.

<i>Eremophila tietkensii</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila tietkensii is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a rounded to flat-topped shrub with grey-green leaves, usually pinkish-purple sepals and mauve, pink or lilac-coloured petals. It is mostly found in Western Australia but also occurs in the far west of the Northern Territory.

References

  1. 1 2 "Eremophila crssifolia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Chinnock, R.J. (Bob) (2007). Eremophila and allied genera : a monograph of the plant family Myoporaceae (1st ed.). Dural, NSW: Rosenberg. pp. 533–534. ISBN   9781877058165.
  3. 1 2 "Eremophila crassifolia". Electronic Flora of South Australia. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  4. ↑ "Eremophila crassifolia". Lucid Central. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  5. 1 2 Boschen, Norma; Goods, Maree; Wait, Russell (2008). Australia's eremophilas : changing gardens for a changing climate. Melbourne: Bloomings Books. pp. 194–195. ISBN   9781876473655.
  6. ↑ "Eremophila crassifolia". APNI. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  7. ↑ von Mueller, Ferdinand (1859). "On the genus Eremophila". Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania. 3 (2): 297. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  8. ↑ von Mueller, Ferdinand; Bentham, George (1870). Flora Australiensis (Volume 5). p. 11. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  9. ↑ von Mueller, Ferdinand (1882). Systematic Census of Australian Plants (Part 1). Melbourne. p. 104. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  10. 1 2 Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  11. ↑ Sluiter, Ian Richard Kirkwood. "On the distribution, ecology and conservation status of three rare plant taxa Zygophyllum compressum, Elachanthus glaber and Eremophila crassifolia in southwestern New South Wales" (PDF). Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
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